"I'm Going To Disney World!"

Everyone knows we cannot wait until our next Walt Disney World vacation. We even have a graphic on the side of the blog showing how much of our wait for this year's trip is complete. WDW is a destination that our family always enjoys and has given us many great experiences and memories over the years. However, we are not the only ones that enjoy being there. Every year at about this time, someone will proclaim, "I'm going to Disney World!" Let's look back at everyone that has proclaimed that now famous phrase.

A Look Back at "I'm Going To Disney World!"

First Spot: Super Bowl XXI (Phil Simms, New York Giants)
Number of Spots Since Inception: 40

Chronology of "I'm going to Disney World" Spots:

2009 - Super Bowl XLIII (Santonio Holmes and Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh Steelers)

2008 - Super Bowl XLII (Eli Manning, New York Giants); American Idol (David Cook, Singer)

2007 - Super Bowl XLI (Tony Dungy and Dominic Rhodes, Indianapolis Colts)

2006 - Super Bowl XL (Hines Ward, with Jerome Bettis, Pittsburgh Steelers)

2004 - Super Bowl XXXVIII (Tom Brady, New England Patriots); Major League Baseball World Series Champions (Curt Schilling, Pedro Martinez and David Ortiz, Boston Red Sox)

2003 - Super Bowl XXXVII (Jon Gruden and Brad Johnson, Tampa Bay Buccaneers)

2002 - Super Bowl XXXVI (Tom Brady, New England Patriots)

2001 - Super Bowl XXXV (Trent Dilfer, Baltimore Ravens); Major League Baseball home run record (Barry Bonds, San Francisco Giants)

2000 - Super Bowl XXXIV (Kurt Warner, St. Louis Rams)

1999 - Super Bowl XXXIII (Terrell Davis and John Elway, Denver Broncos); Women's World Cup (United States Championship Team)

1998 - Super Bowl XXXII (John Elway, Denver Broncos); Major League Baseball home run record (Mark McGwire, St. Louis Cardinals)

1997 - Super Bowl XXXI (Desmond Howard, Green Bay Packers); Holiday Gift-Giving (Santa Claus)

1996 - Super Bowl XXX (Emmitt Smith, Dallas Cowboys)

1995 - Super Bowl XXIX (Jerry Rice and Steve Young, San Francisco 49ers)

1994 - Super Bowl XXVIII (Emmitt Smith, Dallas Cowboys); Winter Games XVII (Nancy Kerrigan, U.S. Figure Skater)

1993 - Super Bowl XXVII (Troy Aikman, Dallas Cowboys); Stanley Cup (Patrick Roy, Montreal Canadiens)

1992 - Super Bowl XXVI (Mark Rypien, Washington Redskins)

1991 - Super Bowl XXV (Ottis Anderson, N.Y. Giants); NBA (Michael Jordan, Chicago Bulls)

1990 - Super Bowl XXIV (Joe Montana, San Francisco 49ers); Graduation (Jim Thompson of Temple University, and Matt Kaldenberg, Phyllis Kaldenberg and Laura McEwen of Simpson College)

1989 - Super Bowl XXIII (Joe Montana, San Francisco 49ers); NHL (Al MacInnis, Calgary Flames); NBA (Joe Dumars, Detroit Pistons)

1988 - Super Bowl XXII (Doug Williams, Washington Redskins); Miss America (Gretchen Carlson); World Series (Orel Hershiser, L.A. Dodgers); NBA (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, L.A. Lakers)

1987 - Super Bowl XXI (Phil Simms, N.Y. Giants); America’s Cup (Dennis Conner); NBA (Magic Johnson, L.A. Lakers); World Series (Frank Viola, Minnesota Twins)

The Super Bowl has been the catalyst for the most "I'm going to Disney World" spots (22).

There have been four "I'm going to Disney World" repeaters: Joe Montana (1989 and 1990), Emmitt Smith (1994 and 1996), John Elway (1998 and 1999) and Tom Brady (2002 and 2004).

"I'm going to Disney World" spots immediately following the Super Bowl have featured non-Super Bowl MVPs eight times: 1989, 1995 (shared), 1996, 1998, 1999 (shared), 2001, 2003 and 2007. *

I don't know what happened in 2005. Wikipedia says Disney decided to opt out because "the company's advertising efforts were focused instead on its global Happiest Celebration on Earth event in honor of the 50th anniversary of Disneyland."

Was it a bad year for visiting WDW? I don't think so. We were there!